Business Directories

Qatar plans $5bn sovereign bond sale

Doha, November 11, 2009

Qatar plans to raise as much as $5 billion from a sovereign bond sale, depending on demand, the Financial Times quoted bankers as saying.

Bankers said the initial interest was "very positive" ahead of a roadshow over the next week or so.

The country's finance ministry has appointed five banks -- Qatar National Bank, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan -- to run the issue, the FT said on its website.

Qatar, the world's top natural gas exporter, raised $3 billion in a bond sale this spring.

Its benchmark bond included a $2 billion five-year note yielding 340 basis points over comparable US treasuries and a $1 billion 10-year note yielding 380 basis points more than the US benchmark.

Qatar's five-year credit default swaps stood at 79.250 basis points on Wednesday, well down from February highs of 390 points, indicating that investors' confidence was returning to the Gulf, the world's top oil producing region. - Reuters